Road Construction Across the Nation

ARRA By The Numbers

As of January 7, 2010:
- 1,125 bridges had been improved, replace or newly constructed
- 21,400 miles of pavement were either improved, resurfaced or widened
- 1,700 miles of safety traffic management projects were implemented
- Over 630 miles of bike lanes, sidewalks or environmental mitigation projects underway
- 7,450 buses have been purchased and 1,637 bus shelters constructed
Real People Are Working Real Jobs
- 280,000 direct, on-project jobs have been created or sustained across the country
- Total employment from these projects, which includes direct, indirect, and induced jobs, reaches almost 890,000 jobs.
Visit the Projects and Paychecks website.


Workzone Fatalities - Click image for downloadable pdf.

Secretary LaHood Announces Funding for Over 50 Innovative, Strategic Transportation Projects through Landmark Competitive TIGER Program

One year to the day after President Obama signed the historic American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will announce Recovery Act awards to states, tribal governments, cities, counties and transit agencies across the country to fund 51 innovative transportation projects. The U.S. Department of Transportation required rigorous economic justifications for projects more than $100 million and will require all recipients to report on their activities on a routine basis.

ASTM Standard Covers Sustainable Use of Recycled Asphalt Pavement

Developed by Subcommittee D18.14 on Geotechnics of Sustainable Construction, proposed standard ASTM WK26824 is an important step in guiding federal, state, and local highway agencies, contractors, material suppliers, and consultants on sustainable use of recycled asphalt pavement. According to Haifang Wen, Ph.D., use of recycled materials reduces need for virgin materials and disposal of existing materials and can protect the environment, reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.Click the image to go to the ASTM website.

HiVis In the News

Ronald Gary Taunton, a 20-year employee of East Alabama Paving in Opelika, died instantly after he was run over by a dump truck. Authorities believe Taunton was directing heavy equipment on a work site with the highway department when he apparently failed to move out from behind a Lee County truck as it was backing up. Authorities reported that Taunton was wearing his safety vest and the backup alarm on the truck was working properly.
The coroner said in a press release that the incident is being investigating “as an accident” by Auburn police, the coroner’s office and the Alabama Medical Examiner’s Office.

Comprehensive Safety Analysis
Starting in the summer of 2010, FMCSA will implement comprehensive safety analysis 2010 CSA 2010, which is designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of FMCSA’s enforcement and compliance program.

How Will This Change Affect Drivers?
* Unsafe carrier and driver behaviors that lead to crashes will be identified and addressed
* All safety-based roadside inspection violations will count, not just Out-of-Service (OOS) violations
* Drivers will be more accountable for safe on-road performance — good news for drivers with strong safety performance records





What can drivers do to prepare for the change?
1) Know and follow safety rules and regulations - CMV safe driving tips
2) Become knowledgeable about the new Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) and how FMCSA will assess safety under CSA 2010
3) Keep copies of inspection reports
4) Learn about employers’ safety records
5) Visit the CSA 2010 website

Road Work Safety and Transportation - In the News

In the single worst economic time since the depression, job-loss reportings that are lower than expected become overall good news. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has estimated December 2009 job losses at 84,000, a little higher for the month than expected, but the Portland Cement Association (PCA) final quarter job loss predictions of 861,000 are far higher than actual 501,000 for the final quarter of 2009 as reported on Jan. 14th by Site Prep magazine.

The DOT’s Secretary LaHood said that the Obama administration’s approved $79 billion dollar budget promotes safety in a number of areas, starting with a new $50 million grant incentive program to the states to combat distracted driving. Since Secretary LaHood convened a national Distracted Driving Summit last fall, he has undertaken a nationwide campaign to put an end to the deadly epidemic.

More than half of U.S. highway fatalities are related to deficient roadway conditions – a substantially more lethal factor than drunk driving, speeding or non-use of safety belts – according to the Transportation and Construction Coalition (TCC) and the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE). Ten roadway-related crashes occur every minute (5.3 million a year) and also contribute to 38 percent of non-fatal injuries. The report also found that deficiencies in the roadway environment contributed to more than 22,000 fatalities and cost $217 billion annually.

Analysis of crash costs on a state-by-state basis.

The 10 states with the:

Highest total cost from crashes involving deficient road conditions are (alphabetically): Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.

Highest road-related crash costs per million vehicle miles of travel are: Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Highest road-related crash costs per mile of road are: California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and South Carolina.